A Chance to Change
Stunned to shocked silence, the three stood by the window, mouths agape as their eyes were cast down at the figure slumped in the seat. Bloodied forehead, eyes closed to the world, closed to the sight of the three hunters who stood stunned, now fearing for what had happened and what’s to happen.
“Dear god,” Parker’s quivering voice finally said, breaking through the silence. “What have we done?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
1 Day earlier...
Dear Baby, I love you. I’m so sorry I have to leave you,especially after their deaths. But, the lord awaits for me. I will see you again.
Find our angel. Find the woman that saved my boy from the those people that night, find her and thank her for me.
I love you, my child. Stay pure, be free and love the Lord. We will wait for you, and watch out for you.
Love,
Mom
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Fingering the note, a single tear slid from long eyelashes, before carefully tucking the worn paper back into the envelope and placed on top of the nightstand. Looking up, soft eyes roamed the plain room, before slowly sliding into the cool covers, reaching over to turn the light off, and settle down to sleep away another lonely night.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Jarod!” she screamed, running to his fallen form. “Jarod, no!” Collapsing to the ground, she reached out for him, her hands instantly covered with scarlet red.
Lifting him up, she cradled his head in her arms, tears of sorrow spilling from her eyes. “Don’t leave me,” she whispered, her heart tearing in two right in her chest.
Tilting her head back, she cried towards the evening sky, cursing Him... cursing them. This wasn’t supposed to happen... This can’t happen!
Dropping her head, she leaned her forehead against his own, her tears sliding from her face to his. The bullet hole, neatly shot through his temple still allowed the blood to stream from its wound, draining the very life from him. Just another Centre causality.
“Please Jarod... please, not you too.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Screaming, she bolted up in bed, her chest heaving deep breaths as her eyes shot around the room. Swearing, she ran a hand over her face, tired of living that night over and over in her dreams.
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stood on wobbly knees and began to gather her things together quickly, suddenly getting the feeling of anxiety. They are on their way, she thought, they are on their way.
They are coming.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Damn,” she cursed, spotting the black sedan. “Damn it.”
Throwing the car in gear, she backed up as quickly as the car would allow, the tires squealing as she turned onto the main road. But, the sedan wasn’t too far behind. She scowled at the car in her rearview, increasing the pressure on the gas. Soon, the two cars were speeding down the road at wild speeds, country side whipping by too quickly to even notice the lush greenery and bright flowers. Determination shone brightly in her eyes as she stared on straight ahead.
“You took both my brothers,” she whispered through clenched teeth. “You took my mother and father... my life, my innocence... You won’t take me.”
And then, the lush greenery parted to reveal a speckled fawn, its large beady eyes meeting hers. She gasped in surprise, before slamming the brake...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Emily... Oh god,” Sydney whispered, opening the door. Slowly, he helped ease her body out of the car, hearing her groan of pain. “Parker help me,” Sydney said urgently, reaching up and tugging on her arm.
“Hold your hand here... we need to stop the bleeding.”
“What have we done?” Broots repeated, his eyes wide as he watched both his co-workers help the unconscious woman. “If... if she is here, then what happened to everyone else?” Broots eyes shot out in panic, leaning down on his hunches with his companions. “What about Debbie? What about Nicolas? What about...”
Miss Parker shot the tech an evil glare, and he shut up quickly, offering his help to save the sister of their prey. Soon, they had her as stable as they could, unsure if they should call an ambulance or not, and battling over the so many unanswered questions.
Maybe they would soon be answered, for heavy eyelids opened to reveal deep blue eyes, hazy and unfocused as they looked up to the three faces of her pursuers. Her eyes widened, her breath quickened and she glared at them in panic. “You can all burn in hell before I go back there,” she croaked, finding her voice.
“Back there?” Sydney repeated, looking over at Parker.
Suddenly, confusion settled over the panic, and Emily’s eyes lowered their intensity. “You aren’t hurt,” she stated, out of the blue, as her eyes took in their appearance. “Your car was more wrecked then mine,” she said, seeing their upturned car.
“Emily, tells us... about the Centre,” Sydney began carefully, but quickly changed his mind as panic seeped into her features. “Tell us about your brothers and family.”
“You, of all people, should know about my family, Dr. Sydney Green,” she snapped cruelly, forcing her weakened body up to a sitting position and leaning against her car.
“Why do you say that?” Parker asked for him, her head slightly crooked as she studied the woman carefully.
Emily looked over at the brunette briefly to acknowledge her. “Sydney was my mentor for most of my life,” she answered, as if it was the dumbest question in the world. “He knows more about me then I do.”
Sydney blinked in bewilderment. “I don’t remember...enlighten me. Tell me about Jarod and Kyle.”
Emily’s eyes narrowed in confusion, before they dropped in sorrow. “You are playing with my head, Syd. How many times do I have to tell you-”
“Please, Emily,” Sydney pleaded.
“They died!” she snapped, painfully, watching as all three winced in surprise. “God, they died, damn it!” She was crying now, much to her displeasure. “Kyle, to Raines’ experiments, and Jarod, to a gun to his head.”
“Jarod killed himself?” Broots whispered.
“Of course not,” she spat, her face streaked with tears. “Jarod would never be so selfish... He was stronger than any of you or the Centre! But, I guess one sweeper had to do something about a loose end.”
“Loose end? Jarod was their prize pretender. The Centre would never-” Sydney began, shaking his head.
“Pretender? Jarod was never a pretender, or at least wasn’t trained to be. They used him to get to me,” she sobbed, wiping at her tears with the back of her hand. “He’s dead because of me.”
Sydney’s legs suddenly felt too weak to hold him up,and he slowly retreated to the car, his long frame leaning against it heavily. His eyes stared out in shock, wondering what they had really done.
“Tell me,” Sydney suddenly whispered.
“About what?” Emily asked, surprised with the older man’s reaction and suddenly concerned about her mentor.
“Anything... everything.”
Looking away, Emily flicked her tongue over her lower lip. Her head hurt and so did her body, but it wasn’t enough to keep the memories at bay. “Where to begin,” she whispered, her eyes glimmering in thought. “My mother always told me about Jarod’s guardian angel...the woman that had saved him that night and had vanished.” Parker looked surprised. “Mom always said that Jarod was completely safe from harm because of his angel. And if he was in doubt, he could always turn to her.
“Well, bull!” Emily shouted suddenly in anger. “Where the hell was his angel one year ago? Where was she then? She didn’t stop the bullet, nor did she save him from a long, painful death,” Emily cried. “He died so slowly in my arms, that I had to watch the life give way in his eyes.” She looked up at them with a watery look. “Do you have any idea how painful that was? How many times I see him in my dreams?”
“I’m sorry,” Parker whispered, and Emily looked up at her in surprise.
“Yeah, me too,” Emily said.
“What do we do now?” Broots whispered to Sydney.
“How... Where do we go from here?”
“I don’t know if we can,” Sydney said, his eyes filled with a far off look.
“I wish we had a chance to change it,” Broots whispered.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
If only we had a chance to change.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Sydney? Are you alright? Parker? Broots? Wake up!”
All three’s eyes shot open at the same time, greeted by a very concerned face. Brown eyes stared down at them, studying them for any sign of serious damage, as they took in his own appearance.
“Jarod?” Sydney was the first to croak.
Smirking, Jarod nodded. “Who else?”
All three groaned in union at the hidden message behind that sentence, before climbing to a sitting position. Parker’s first instinct was to reach for her gun, but felt it useless since she spotted her gun, unloaded, lying on the ground a few feet away from their demolished car.
“How did we survive?” Broots asked, lifting a hand to his head.
“You can thank me later,” Jarod grinned, getting up from the ground and walking over to his car. “Lucky for me, my car still works.”
“Jarod, wait!” Sydney said, getting up and suddenly washed over with dizziness. Jarod was at his side in a matter of seconds. Clutching the younger man for support, Sydney smiled his thanks. “I’m glad you are alright,” he whispered, squeezing Jarod’s arm.
Jarod looked slightly surprised, before returning his smile. “I’m glad you are too, Syd.” Letting him go, Sydney watched the pretender get in his car and drive away, before looking down at his companions, who were still disoriented and seated on the ground.
“You two alright?” he asked, slightly amused and happy things were back to normal... or were they always, and it was just a dream?
“Yeah, or soon will be,” Parker answered, lifting herself up to her feet and brushing her suit off, suddenly surprised how whole she was after what a crash she went through. She seemed to think something over, before looking at Sydney with a slightly amused smirk. “We got our chance.”
Sydney smiled in relief, before nodding, looking over as Broots climbed to his feet as well. “It might now be the best for all of us, but it is what’s meant to be.”
“And in a slightly twisted way, this is the best for all of us.”
Yeah, I know it was fast... but I was completely dead out of ideas of what to write and how to wrap up the end.
Over and Out, °AngelWings°